<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Firelight on the Dancing Ground by SilverInk</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25142758">Firelight on the Dancing Ground</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverInk/pseuds/SilverInk'>SilverInk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Frontier Wolf - Rosemary Sutcliff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dancing, Double Drabble, Drabble Sequence, Gen, Light Angst, Missing Scene, Multifandom Drabble Exchange, Other, POV Alternating, Post-Canon, Weapons, possible pre-slash Alexios/Hilarion if you look for it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:22:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>600</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25142758</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverInk/pseuds/SilverInk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexios learns the significance of the Frontier Wolves' weapon dances...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alexios Flavius Aquila &amp; Hilarion, Alexios Flavius Aquila &amp; Rufus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Multifandom Drabble 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verecunda/gifts">Verecunda</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I hope you enjoy this my dear!! &lt;3</p><p>I really wish we could've seen more about the weapon dances in the book - this is my attempt to fix that, and hopefully it does justice to it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Rufus! The Commander needs a trumpeter!” shouted Hilarion.</p><p>It sounded urgent; Rufus, slightly confused, left his position on the fort wall, Typhon clinging to the folds of his cloak.</p><p>“What for, sir?”</p><p>“You’ll see,” he said grimly. “On the Dancing Ground.”</p><p>Worried now, Rufus ran, trumpet in hand and cat on shoulder. No time to set him down.</p><p>As he had feared, they were dancing the Bull Calves. To Aquila, it must look like a real fight, which he supposed it half was.</p><p>“Stick close behind me and sound ‘break off’!” Aquila shouted over the drums and clashing weapons, and Rufus nodded. Typhon’s claws dug into his skin.</p><p>Rufus lifted the trumpet, and then they were striding through the throng. He sounded the notes again and again, right on Aquila’s heels; someone ran into Rufus, someone else punched Aquila in the face, but soon enough it was over.</p><p>Typhon came around the front of his cloak, ears back, irritated; Rufus grinned. “Don’t look like that, we saved the day."</p><p>As Aquila approached, Rufus explained, “All the weapon dances aren’t this violent. There are better ones we can show you.”</p><p>“I’d like to see them.” Aquila smiled, reaching to pet Typhon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The ringleaders of the Bull Calves incident offered to teach Alexios the weapon dances, and it was only another day before Alexios found himself on the Dancing Ground again with Hilarion, Lucius, and the three ringleaders.</p><p>They showed him one of the easier dances, and after watching it through once, Alexios joined them. The movements of his feet and the spear in his hands felt natural, like he’d always known them in his heart but had only been awakened by the pounding of the drums. He felt <em>so alive</em>, so aware of the power of his own body…</p><p>When the dance was over, Alexios turned and grinned at Hilarion, and Hilarion grinned back.</p><p>The next day they taught him more dances, and Alexios was eager to follow whatever they did, once again watching and then joining. And once again, he felt that rush of wildness and joy at the movements of his weapons and feet; he never wanted to stop, but eventually, duty called.</p><p>Later, dicing with Hilarion, Alexios still felt the echoing rhythm of the drums.</p><p>“You know,” he laughed, “at first I thought you hated me. Now that you’ve shown me these dances, I know you really don’t.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Attacotti recruits, as Hilarion and Alexios found out, had their own versions of the weapon dances of the Third Ordo, Frontier Wolves. Alexios had them do the weapon dances instead of the Legionary arms drills they’d been doing until now, just as the Third Ordo had done.</p><p>“They’re Frontier Wolves,” he told Hilarion, “and it is in my heart to train them as the old Wolves were.”</p><p>“I couldn’t agree more,” Hilarion said gravely, then broke into a grin. “Spoken like a true Frontier Wolf yourself.” In fact, Hilarion could hardly believe there had been a time when he wasn’t completely sure of Alexios’s belonging with the Wolves. He had more than proved himself, time and again.</p><p>Hilarion led many of these weapon dance drills, as did Alexios, and it wasn’t long before they knew nearly all of the Attacotti dances and began teaching them the Third Ordo dances. This new posting suddenly felt much more close knit and trusting and familiar, like dancing brought them together.</p><p>At Midwinter, too, there was dancing, bright and joyful and banishing the darkness. Midwinter held painful memories for both of them, but it was easier to face together, with their own people.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>